My Dearest
by graygrayskies
Summary: [CH.3 IS DONE] ' Well, at least you don't have to be working. So, are you always...you know...kissing guys? Or do you have other hobbies? '
1. My Dearest Reno

It was the departed hours of the night, where even the most dedicated business suits were hung up in a closet and the individual who wore it lounged in bed, unwinding the day's labor to oblivion. Gloomy storm clouds were beginning to form, but downfall was delayed by a force unknown to Reno.

"Probably waiting until I step outside..." he muttered bitterly to himself as he glanced through the spotless glass separating him and fresh air. Resting his shoes with dried mud caked to them, on the desk, his mind began wandering beyond work issues.

Reno was the last person left in the office of Rufus Shin-Ra's mansion, required to stay behind to finish a report which he promised to give to Rufus the next morning. Though he hated doing handout work, he did love his job and the hate he would feel after being fired out-weighed the hate he felt for sitting in front of a computer screen racking his brain on those tiny details he paid no attention to. Therefore, he took the so-called abuse without a peep.

Despite most opinions of what was left of Shin-Ra employees, Reno loved to be out in the field; seeing and touching things with his bare hands. To him, it was more desireable than any pen and paper could ever prove to him. He liked being the person discovering and delivering noteworthy information to headquarters, rather than the one sitting around waiting to analyze what the gallant brought to the table. It was just his style, which he was rather proud of to say the least.

He was the only Turk that taboo'd the idea of appearing flawless and professional. With his umtamed red hair protruding out of a disheveled ponytail, wrinkled jacket and chinos, dress shirt sloppilly untucked and draping out in ruffles and last of all: the shoes. The shoes he never took the time to neaten or shine. For, needless to say, Reno was one to take the road less traveled. Stopping for aimless devoirs was alwasys avoidable to him.

But in this case, he made an acception.

Just as his mind was at the brink of dozing off, responsibility snapped him back to the land of the living. Or the land of the awake. He dropped his legs to the floor and slid them under the desk as he pulled himself closer, "Okay, back to work!" he coaxed.

One and a half productive hours later, Reno hit print and then admired his immaculate work. He held it parallel to his face as if staring it down, then he threw it onto the desk, along with a million other documents. He jumped to his feet to stretch and to bust out in an immodest victory dance with himself. Suddenly, going home to his grungy apartment never sounded so melodic. But first, he had to pee.

He half walked, half frisked down the hallway until he reached the empty restroom. The lights were shut off, but after a few seconds of instinctively groping the wall for the switch, he chose the farthest urinal from the door. His pants were unzipped and his free arm held the wall in front of him the way a drunk man would to keep his balance all in one motion.

He sighed and tossed his head back. He presumed that while he was completing all that hard work, he forgot to stop for a bathroom break. For the moment, he was in heaven.

Reno finished with his business, moving toward a sink right away to wash his hands. He began humming casually to fill the silent areas of the room, which he was really beginning to either appreciate or despise. After drying off, he peered into the mirror at himself. Exhausted aqua eyes shone back at him, pleading for slumber. Lowering his gaze onto a coffee stain on his otherwise clean, white shirt. Coffee, that wasn't even his. He grumbled remembering the morning's events. Letting out a fathomless sigh, he rambled through the doorway and back to his desk.

When he arrived, his whole body began bobbing with exhaustion. He began to shape funny expressions with his face and rubbed his cheeks and eyes with his hands to subside his drowsiness. Looking down to pack up, Reno discovered a pink piece of paper folded into a small square atop the report he had just finished. Not remembering placing such a thing there, nor having a pink paper in the first place triggered him to unfold the card on the spot.

It read with gentle handwriting:

_My dearest Reno,_

_I know that work is very hard. It must be difficult for you to put up with it every single day. I bet your "superiors" don't know how wonderful you really are. They probably take you for granted. But don't give up! You're the best! Even if they don't admit it, __**I**__ will always know you are. Everything about you is perfect. You're flawless. I hate it when bad things happen to you. Because bad things make you frown. Even if there's nothing wrong about your frowning face, I would just much rather see your smile. __**So, smile, Reno. **__For me. For the next time we cross paths. Your smile always brightens my day. No matter how much shit has happened to me, your smile erases it all. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow._

_P.S.  
The bitch who spilled her coffee on you this morning should pay severely.  
Don't worry, she'll get what's coming._

Reno looked around slightly freaked out, but remained calm on the outside. From left to right, to behind him, to back towards the bathroom, there was no sign of anyone, besides him in the ample room. Which didn't say much; there were plenty of desks and chairs and shadows to hide in and behind. He decided to continue packing up his reports and notes into his messenger bag and to get the hell out and away from the building, keeping his nightstick in hand, just in case.

Reno had never had a stalker before; he had no clue on how to manage the situation so he just took the defensive. If he was attacked, he would defend himself...with deadly force.

He made his way out of the office, surveying his surroundings every now and then to see if he could spot whoever left the mysterious note. Finally reaching the exit, he turned back to examine the room one last time and then moved backward to push the door to the hallway open. Slowly exhaling, he backed into the dim-lit space and bumped into something alive. "YAAHH!!!" yelped Reno, as he jumped back holding his weapon up to ward off his possible stalker. After his adrenaline stilled, he realized the person he bumped into was a fellow Turk.

"Tseng!?" Reno yipped, then attempted to collect himself, "What are you doing here?"

Tseng looked slightly annoyed with being jostled, but knew better than to start trouble out of something so trivial. He exhaled slowly and then brushed his jacket off, "What are YOU doing here?" he asked, sounding a little more irate than he would have hoped. Tseng was usually the lucky one who got to watch over Rufus' abode while he was out. Which usually meant living the luxurious life for one day at least.

Reno stared dumbly, a feeling of surrealism coming over him all at once. He pointed to the door to the office, "I was..." he began to trail off, but snapped back, "A report. The one that was due tomorrow." Tseng looked at him suspiciously, but nodded in approval. Reno went on, feeling there was more to be said, "I'm done with it now." he paused, about to say something and then changed his mind, "I'm heading home now so..." and then he moved past his superior and was walking down the stairs. His head was spinning, he was so sleepy.


	2. Stuck Like Glue

The clatter of the engine in Reno's car died down as he twisted the key out of the ignition. He slipped out of the driver's seat and ascended the stairs to the second floor of the low-class apartment. The air around him was chilly and he could see his breath as he fumbled with his keys in front of the door. Just as he found the right key, he sensed the presence of someone watching him.

Without moving his body, Reno's gaze stretched further down the hall to a woman standing in the shadows. She moved closer, coming into the fading light. Her name was Shiela. She was one of his neighbors, who suffered of insomnia. She peered at him through dull gray eyes as he began unlocking his door and then tilted his head as if to invite her in.

She paused for a moment, as her body attempted mutiny against her mind, then proceeded past him and into the moon-lit flat. Somehow, the two had found a fondness in each other, one that allowed Reno to give his mouth a break from speaking so much and one that allowed Shiela to actually get some shut eye.

He followed her in and slammed the door behind them, Shiela dropped down on the couch. He carefully watched her massage her temples as he stood next to the entrance. After a moment, she lifted herself up enough to squint at him from behind the couch. "How was work?" she asked bluntly, "You look dead."

"I fucking hate paperwork..." Reno mumbled, deciding to leave out the part about the pink letter. Shiela scooted over as Reno plopped himself next to her, "How was YOUR day?" he asked in a mocking tone.

She covered her face with a throw pillow she found on the floor, "I would tell you" she started, "but I don't think you'd care."

"It's nice how you know me so well already." he joked, turning his head toward hers. He knew she was smiling under that pillow. He reached over to touch her tawny colored hair, but refrained. He dropped his hands on his lap with a whop sound and stood up quickly, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." then he sprung into his room. He scurried under the sheets like a little kid trying to hide from the Boogy Man and then exhaled, nervously.

His whole body sank into the cushions and for the second time that night, he was in heaven. 

* * *

That morning, Reno woke up at seven thirtyish, took a shower and got ready to meet with the President. The love letter he recieved was far from his mind by then. All that mattered at the time was going to meet Rufus. He rustled his hair with his fingers and then pulled all that he could back into a ponytail, but failed to find a hairtie. Scowling at the bathroom counter, he began combing through the knick knacks and bottles and scraps of papers that littered random areas of the apartment, until his eyes set on Shiela.

She seemed to be curled into a fetal position, her head rested on one of her arms, which was bent back and hidden behind her neck. Her other arm hung out over the side of the couch with, to much of Reno's delight, a thick generic black hairtie hung loosely around her thin wrist.

He dove for it, as a starving vulture would to an abandoned carcass. As he stood over her, fixing his hair into place, a pang of guilt hit him. _' She looks kinda cold.' _ he throught to himself. He instantly went to his room to retrieve his blanket and gently whipped it over her. In her sleeping state, her body clung to it for warmth and her lips curved upward ever so slightly.

He nodded to himself and headed to the door.

He swung his car door shut after he seated himself comfortably and silently in the driver's space. Staring up at his window, he thought about Shiela and how she would react when she woke up and found him gone. It wouldn't be the first time; it would be the second time. He sighed and then started up the engine.

Reno's thoughts continued to circle around Shiela until he drove past a rusty, broken down van on the side of the path. The memories it brought caused all attentiveness to cease, all eyes off the road, all smiles to widen. A month or so ago, Reno had been driving the president and Rude, as well as some old friends from the 7th Heaven bar to Rufus' mansion, only to have it break down.

Events that occured that day, Reno was sworn to secrecy.

Before his mind could wander any further, he was snapped back to reality as his front pocket began to vibrate. He yanked his mobile out to answer, "Hello there!" he said cheerfully, seeing that the caller ID said it was his partner in crime.

_"Are you almost here?" _came Rude's voice on the line.

"Uhh, almost. Why?"

Reno could hear Elena's voice in the background, Rude pausing to listen to her. Then he went on, _"We have a problem."_

"Oh great. Let me guess, everyone is blaming it on me?" Reno said, jokingly.

_"Well...just get over here."_

"Alrighty." he replied and hung up. The drive there past swiftly, but the dilemna Rude spoke of had no effect on Reno whatsoever. They were the Shin-Ra; they were always in trouble and they would continue to be in trouble until they found a way to give back to the planet and to make up for all they had destroyed.

Reno pulled up in front of the mansion, walked up the stairs and pushed the front door open. "Hey guys!" he called out, making his way down the hallway, "You left the door open!" searching for any of his coworkers, he slipped into the kitchen, "Guys?!" when no one answered, he shrugged and began rummaging through the refridgerator.

Rufus' mansion was rather elegant, despite the horrifying fervor one would feel when sitting among it's interior in the dark. The office Reno spent his night in was only half of the glory that was home to the president. It created another meaning to 'taking his work home with him.'

Oblivious to the figure lurking around behind him, Reno began picking at a large bowl with foil over it. He straightened his back and then jumped when he found Rufus standing a few inches next to him, "What" the president started, displeasure boiling in his throat, "are you doing?

"Breakfast, sir." Reno replied. "Didn't get any."

Rufus shoved a banana in Reno's chest and stretched his arm over to shut the refridgerator. He repositioned himself across the island counter in the center of the oversized kitchen, "I need to speak with you." his voice left no room for humor. "Last night, did you allow someone else to enter _my_ establishment?" the emphasis he placed on the word 'my' caused Reno to flinch.

Even if his evil tyrant days were over, Rufus still enjoyed ruling over whatever he could with an iron fist and with fear. Even if he didn't realize he was doing so, he had a way of frightening his employees. Though it got to Reno too, it usually had the least effect on him.

"No. Why would you think that?" Reno asked, peeling the banana of it's film of unedible parts.

Rufus huffed like a bull and backed Reno against the counter, "Don't be stupid with me." he warned. Despite Rufus' threatening advances, Reno only noticed the open space between them disappearing with each step the president took. Rufus' icy eyes glowered into Reno's a little longer and deeper than Reno would have hoped. Rufus went on in a low voice, "If you are going to rendezvous with some driftless tramp...do it elsewhere."

Anyone else would have seen enmity, ferocity, uproar in Rufus. But to Reno, it was obvious that, though those emotions were present, another emotions was jumbled in as well; hurt. And anyone else would have seen a hardened face, but Reno saw a child. A misunderstood one, at that. One that would probably never find anyone to comprehend him.

Because Reno was probably the closest to understanding and he still found himself disoriented around the man.

"I'd never..." Reno began to assure, softly but Rufus refused to hear it. "I promise you. I swear to you." he coaxed, truthfulness radiating. After a moment of analyzing him, Rufus' expression softened and then became impenatrable just as quickly. Going back to the issue, Reno went on, "I do think that someone broke into the house though."

Rufus moved away, "Well, I know that." he stated, rudely. "She left me something."

Suddenly, the pink letter flashed in Reno's mind, "Wait. How do you know it's a girl?"

Rufus reached into his inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a slip of ripped rose colored paper, "For you." he motioned.


	3. Reinforce

Reno studied the paper Rufus found for more than an hour when he got a text message. His cellular phone rumbled on the coffee table across the room from him. His initial response was to ignore it. His second reaction was to crawl, not walk, to it and laggardly check it. The text message was from Yuffie asking him to meet her at Tifa's and she reminded him to bring "the stuff."

He groaned and snapped his phone shut, shoving it in his pocket. "Okay, okay." he replied out loud. Pulling out a small sack of materia, he shook his head. He didn't understand why Yuffie had to refer to the pearls as some kind of drug. But then, he thought, maybe to her it was.

He walked down the hallway and found Elena descending the stairs. "Oh, hey." he greeted, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Mm?"

"Tell Rufus that I'm going to take off." Reno headed for the door.

Elena stepped off the stairway, "Don't you think you should tell him that yourself?"

Reno turned back, not quite stopping to consider her suggestion fully, "Eehh...I got business with Yuffie, he'll understand."

The look on Elena's face was a mix between puzzlement and confusion. He couldn't quite find a word for it in his rush; he knew Yuffie didn't like to be kept waiting. Perhaps, Reno thought later when he was back on the road, she thought that something was brewing between him and the young Wutaian. He made sure to tell Elena that nothing was and probably never would happen with him and Yuffie.

Knowing that Yuffie held knowledge that no one else knew about made him feel bizarre enough. He'd never exactly paid any attention to her in the beginning; she was just one of Cloud's friends. To Reno, she didn't mean anything. Until that day his van broke down on them.

_As they were on their way, the engine of the van began to stutter and stall and Reno just knew that the president and the rest of the passengers' expressions were a disconcerted shade. The vehicle slowed to a stop and then began to emit smoke. After an uncomfortable silence, Reno hopped out to check the damage, assuring everyone they would be okay._

_Rufus was upset and impatiet, so was Yuffie. And they both refused to walk the rest of the way to Rufus' mansion, so the three of them sat in the van while Cloud, Tifa and Rude went. Splitting into groups of three was always the popular thing to do anyhow._

Reno shook the memories out of his head, he wanted to be ready before he met with Yuffie. Somedays, she could be quite a pain to deal with, but he felt that it was the correct option. "Kids..." he muttered as he neared 7th Heaven. There were kids everywhere; orphans, in fact. Tifa and Cloud took care of them. He parked across the street and took a deep breath before heading into the building.

No one was manning the bar at the time, Tifa must have been at the store or running errands. He climbed the stairs. With each step, Yuffie's voice became more audible. She sounded excited, like she struck a mine full of materia; it was usually the only thing she was really ever enthusiastic about. When he reached the top, he followed the noise to Cloud and Tifa's room, where he found Marlene and Denzel sitting on the floor, Yuffie sitting atop Cloud's bed.

Her mouth stopped in midsentence when she noticed Reno, which didn't take very long; he assumed his bright hair caught her eye. She hopped off the bed. "Where are you going, Yuffie? Aren't you going to finish the story?" Denzel asked, getting to his feet as well.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo, this won't take long." Yuffie said literally shoving Reno out of the room. She closed the door behind them, "Sooo!" she started, "Do you have it?" Reno raised an eyebrow and brushed his jacket off on the places Yuffie touched him, just to annoy her. "Hurry up already, gimme that materia!"

Reno reached into his jacket pocket only half pulling the pouch out before Yuffie snatched it. "...Weirdo..." he replied and began walking away.

"Hey, you better watch it!" Yuffie took a defensive step forward, "If you're going to be a meanie to me, I just might let some things from the past slip out in front of...I don't know, EVERYONE!"

Reno turned, "Alright already." he rolled his eyes, "Damn. Kids." he grumbled under his breath. "Just keep your mouth shut." Reno started walking down the stairs.

"Oh, Reno." He stopped, but did not turn around. "..."

"What?" he queried. When Yuffie didn't answer, he turned to see her busy reading a piece of paper hurriedly. To his astonishment, it was the letter Rufus had found the night before. Reno darted over to her and seized it by pulling her arm high above her head so that she was almost hanging off the floor. "Why are you so nosey!?" he snarled and then dropped her.

"Is that a love letter from..." she looked around the hallway, "_you know who?_"

"Shut up." he said. Feeling like there would be no way to get out of Yuffie's questions, which he read from the glint in her eyes, he decided to explain it to her, "We've recieved an anonymous letter asking Mr. President to rendezvous at this place and it's my job to go there and figure out what's going on."

"Anonymous...rendezvous...Can I come?" Reno blinked, impassively. "I know what you're thinking: 'Why would a babe--' like myself-- 'want to go with someone like a vicious, untamed ex-Turk to some abandoned place all alone?' ...I want to see what happens."

"What? Forget it." Reno crossed his arms, "I'm not a monkey in heels like Cloud, I won't entertain you the whole time."

"You're right. You aren't THAT entertaining, but I never knew you were." he looked a little lost, "I never really talked to you before. You seem interesting. And you are sure as hell full of surprises. Surprises are fun." Reno opened his mouth to protest and then simply turned to leave. "HE---Y!" she popped her head into the room behind he once to tell the children she was leaving, then she followed after him, "I said I was going with you, so that's that!" Reno continued to ignore her, "There's nothing you can do to change my mind!"

Reno crossed the street without looking both ways with a determined looking Yuffie on his heels. He yanked the driver's side open and sat down, but before he could shut the door on Yuffie, she forced herself in, crawling over him and plopping herself in the passenger's seat. He scowled daggers at her. "You better not annoy me."

"Annoy you? Me?" she rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable, "I'd _neverrr_!"

* * *

Yuffie relaxed on the hood of the convertable as Reno paced back and forth, listlessly. They were parked in the middle of a placid market place on the opposite side of Edge from Rufus' manshion. The sun was beginning to set, casting rays of bold orange streaks over everything. Reno dropped his foot down, "I knew we wouldn't see her. She must have seen me arrive with you and..." his anger slowly drained, "retreated. Damnit!" he planted himself on the passenger's seat. 

"Well, at least you don't have to be working." Yuffie said, stealing a peek at Reno. She darted her gaze away as if he even noticed her staring. After counting to ten in her head, she spoke up again, "So, are you always...you know...kissing guys? Or do you have other hobbies?"

Reno stared angrilly, piercing a hole through the windshield and Yuffie's back. He took a deep breath and scratched his ear, "I don't normally...kiss men. Just to let you know."

Yuffie flipped herself over and looked at him through the glass, "Really? Because I was thinking about that A LOT since that day." she looked past him, remembering, "I mean, when your van broke down and Cloud and Tifa and the bald one walked to the president's manshion...and then I wandered off, I didn't think I would have come back. I ESPECIALLY didn't expect to come back to see you and the president going at it either!" her eyes darted back to Reno, as he looked around.

"Lower your fucking voice! Do you want someone to hear you!?"

"But, you know, I'm not really surprised" she continued, ignoring his warning, "because you've been working for that guy for a long time. I mean, you two must be really close, right? Is he like, your boyfriend?"

Reno felt as if a vein would pop in his forehead. Through the years, he's never quite had to deal with children the way he was dealing with Yuffie. If he ever did have to work with kids, it was probably a kidnapping or hostage kind of thing, but nothing like this, "Look, it's not even like that. I wasn't expecting to kiss Rufus that day either. It just...happened." The look in Yuffie's eyes made Reno's confession seem like a fleeting tale of love, which bothered him severely. "You wouldn't understand, it's something that happens among adults."

"You love him, don't you?" she teased, indiscreetly.

"No way!" he cried. Realizing he was falling into her immature behavior, Reno shook his head, trying to think of something cultured to say. Suddenly, for some reason, he thought of Shiela. "I have a girlfriend already." he lied.

"Oh yeah?" Yuffie faced him, crossing her legs. "What's her name?"

"Her name. It's...Shiela."

"I don't believe you. I think you should introduce me to her!"

"Too bad that's never going to happen, brat." Yuffie pouted, making Reno grin. He won. But when he turned his head so that she could no longer see his expression, his grin died into a frown.

* * *

_I'm starting school now (I'm a senior, and I'm actually going to try to get good grades xD), so if it takes longer for me to update this, sorry. _

_Ugh, this chapter kinda sucks, it's a lot of talking too. But come on, it has Yuffie in it, so you should already know there's a lot of chitchat...ANYWHO, yeah, Reno and Rufus kissed! Woo! Because the raw sexual attraction they've been feeling for each other over the years was just too much for them to bear any longer! And Yuffie witnessed the whole thing (lucky girl)! Catching a celebrity like Rufus Shin-Ra making out with a Turk, ooh what a scandal! Ha. Ok. I'm retarded._


End file.
